Dungeon Finder
Dungeon Finder is the Looking for Dungeon system Blizzard has introduced in patch 3.3.0. It is only used for 5-man dungeons, not raids or groups in general for high-level quests. The Dungeon Finder selects players to form a party from all servers in the battlegroup, so there need not be a full group of players on one specific realm. The first screen players see shows the role selection toggles and the type of dungeon desired. By default, the selection is for a random dungeon. This can be changed via the Type dropdown to such options as Random Lich King Heroic, Random Burning Crusade Dungeon, or Random Classic Dungeon. Running a random dungeon confers additional rewards in the form of emblems and gold. Note that it is not possible to queue for dungeons outside of the player's level bracket or expansion level; i.e. level 80 players cannot queue for classic or Burning Crusade dungeons. Selecting a specific dungeon or dungeons can be accomplished by choosing the very first option in the Type dropdown. The UI changes to show a list of dungeons, all of which are selected. To narrow the list, click the checkbox next to the category line to select/deselect all dungeons in that category. Players can also collapse categories of dungeons by clicking the +/- box just to the left of the category checkbox. Queuing for a specific dungeon example To tell the UI that you only wish to run Pit of Saron in 5-player Heroic mode: File:Patch 3.3 LFD step 1.jpg|Step 1: Choose the "Specific Dungeons" type File:Patch 3.3 LFD step 2.jpg|Step 2: Collapse the first category File:Patch 3.3 LFD step 4.jpg|Step 3: Clear all visible checkboxes File:Patch 3.3 LFD step 5.jpg|Step 4: Reopen desired category File:Patch 3.3 LFD step 6.jpg|Step 5: Select desired dungeon(s) File:Patch 3.3 LFD step 7.jpg|Step 6: Make a role selection File:Patch 3.3 LFD step 8.jpg|Step 7: Find a group! File:Patch 3.3 LFD in queue.jpg|Step 8: Wait in the queue File:Patch 3.3 LFD group formed.jpg|Step 9: There's enough people! File:Patch 3.3 LFD ready check.jpg|Step 10: Is everyone ready? File:LoadScreenPitofSaron.jpg|Free teleport to the instance if all ready Looking for more So the tank left, or a healer disconnected, or a DPS got kicked. How does the party add a replacement member? #The party leader opens the Dungeon Finder frame #The leader selects the dungeon the party is currently running (See the previous section) #The other party members confirm their roles #The party joins the queue #When a replacement is found, the new member will be teleported to the instance entrance Removing a player You can remove a player from the group via the Vote Kick System. Leaving a group When you leave a group you got via the Dungeon Finder you will get the Deserter Debuff, preventing you from joining another random group for the next 30 Minutes. There are the following exceptions: * You got kicked from the group * Your debuff has run out (you have been in the group for at least 15 Minutes) * The End Boss (or whoever gives the reward for joining a LFD-group) of the Instance has been killed LookingForGroup channel In addition to Dungeon Finder, everyone in capital cities automatically joins the LookingForGroup channel. It can be used to manually search for groups instead of, or in addition to, both Dungeon Finder and Looking For Raid. Rewards Depending of the type of the dungeon, and on character's level, there are varying rewards: The Daily item rewards depends on the Dungeon type: *For a Random Classic Dungeon and Burning Crusade Normal you receive a Satchel of Helpful Goods. ** As of Patch 3.3.0, the Burning Crusade Normal rewards appear to be dramatically underleveled, around item level 65 when standard BC rare gear is item level 81-115. This may be fixed in a future patch. *For a Random Burning Crusade Heroic Dungeon there is no reward. *For the first Random Lich King Normal Dungeon each day you receive 2 . For any normal dungeons after that you only get money and XP. *For the first Random Lich King Heroic Dungeon each day you receive 2 . For each additional Lich King Heroic you do afterwards, you will get 2 . The Daily money and XP rewards depends on the character level. The following table contains the rewards for each levels first random dungeon of the day, any other runs during the same day will yield approximately half the money and experience: Other remarks: *For Random Classic Dungeons you must be at least level 15. *For Random Heroic Wrath of the Lich King Dungeons you must be at least level 80. Dungeon finder instance breakdown Classic dungeons vary widely in scope, from short romps to 4+ hour marathons. Many of the classic dungeons have been broken up into separate events to allow achievement of the dungeon finder rewards in a comparable amount of time. There are no in-game maps of classic dungeons, so inexperienced adventurers may want to refer to online guides. Classic dungeons ;Notes Burning Crusade dungeons All Burning Crusade Heroic-level instances have a level range of 70 to 75, and require the appropriate key to enter (except Magister's Terrace, which is unlocked at the end of a quest chain involving clearing the dungeon on normal difficulty). The keys are purchased from corresponding faction Quartermasters. All have the same completion criteria as the Normal-level instance. Note that an optional third boss may be invoked in heroic Sethekk Halls, but not in the Normal version. This boss is not required to complete the instance. A quest chain is required to unlock the Normal-mode Caverns of Time instances of The Escape from Durnholde and The Black Morass. Wrath of the Lich King dungeons ;Notes Some instances require a minimum level of gear. ;Wrath of the Lich King heroic dungeons All Wrath of the Lich King heroic instances require a minimum level of 80. The Nexus, Gundrak and Culling of Stratholme each have an optional heroic-only boss. *Some instances require a minimum level of gear. *WotLK Heroics, beside Trial of the Champion, Pit of Saron, Halls of Reflection and The Forge of Souls unlock with an average item level of 160. *Also Trial of the Champion (normal) and The Forge of Souls (normal) unlock with an item level of 160. Notes * Players may teleport in and out of the dungeon at any time if they are not in combat. They will always appear at the beginning of the dungeon upon returning. * The automatic teleport does not work while on a moving boat or zepplin, or while dead. Players will have to leave the boat or resurrect and then teleport in. * Leaving a dungeon through its ordinary entrance or exit will return the player to wherever they were before, not to the outside of the dungeon ** The only way to use the Dungeon Finder to facilitate overworld travel is to die and resurrect at a spirit healer. * Players may not trade items while in the dungeon, except rare or epic items that dropped in that dungeon and conjured supplies like mage water. This prevents cross-server economic exploitation ** An unintended side effect of this occurs in The Mechanar and Uldaman, both of which have optional content obtained by combining particular drops. If everyone loots blindly, it is likely that each part will go to a different player, preventing them from being combined. The only workaround is to have everyone except a designated person avoid looting these items. http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=21627535071&sid=1&pageNo=1#9 * If Ley-Guardian Eregos is defeated when The Oculus (heroic) was chosen randomly, the player will be be given a from the Cache of Eregos. If the Oculus was chosen specifically (presumably by that player), this extra reward is not given. History and patch changes At the launch of the game, there was only the LookingForGroup chat channel. This channel was available in all zones, but it was not a linked global channel. This was problematic since zones of the same level range are spread out throughout Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. At this time, many players relied on their guild, friend's list, or even whisper to find groups. Otherwise, they would travel to Orgrimmar or Ironforge respectively, find a group, then travel back out to the site of the dungeon, making dungeons far away from these cities very unpopular. As a result, warlocks were also very popular at this time, as they played an important role in forming groups. Blizzard eventually added a queuing system related to the Meeting Stones in front of the instances, but it was rarely used, and was generally a failed feature. In Patch 1.9, the LookingForGroup channel became global, although it was restricted to the major cities. With the release of the Burning Crusade expansion and Patch 2.0.1 came the release of the new Looking For Group interface pane as well as the conversion of Meeting Stones from a queuing system to a summoning mechanism. At this time, the LookingForGroup channel was completely removed, since the interface was intended to replace it. Instead, players began to use the Trade channel for LFG, guild recruitment, and general global chat. Blizzard responded by hotfixing a rate limit of so many messages per minute. However, this was eventually lifted, and Trade channel continues to be a mixture of trade and other uses even today. After much community feedback, in Patch 2.1.0, the LookingForGroup channel was restored, although it was only available while actively using the Interface Tool. In Patch 3.1.0, after the release of Wrath of the Lich King, the Looking For Group panel was improved to include the role which your currently logged character is able to fulfill (tank, damage, or healer), specify leadership, and identifying groups or individuals via the Looking for More pane. At BlizzCon 2009, Blizzard announced that a cross-server LFG system would very likely be released in Patch 3.3.0. This is the second cross-server feature Blizzard has added to the game, after Battlegrounds. Cross-server features are generally used to help users on low-population realms find groups, which was previously nearly impossible any time other than peak hours. * * * * * * * See also *Looking For Raid External links * * Category:UI